Over 15 percent of Rolleston has switched to fibre broadband

Over 15 percent of Rolleston homes
and businesses have made the switch to fibre broadband in
less than six months since Enable launched its network in
the town. Enable has received almost 600 orders for fibre
broadband from the town at almost three times the national
uptake rate.

“We announced Rolleston as New Zealand’s
first fully fibred town in October last year and this
community has embraced fibre broadband like no other,”
said Enable CEO Steve Fuller.

Enable is providing its
fibre broadband services across all of Rolleston’s
existing urban areas and into all new subdivisions in the
town.

“We know almost all homes in new subdivisions will
connect to a fibre broadband service. What we’ve been
astonished by is how quickly Rolleston residents in
established suburbs have made the move,” said Mr
Fuller.

“The sky really is the limit for Rolleston now
– we could be looking at a town with 40 or 50 percent
uptake in just a couple of years. This would represent
globally significant uptake levels and position Rolleston as
the perfect testing ground for retail service and content
providers to trial exciting new services that require
fibre.”

Mr Fuller puts the uptake down to word of mouth
within the community creating a better understanding of the
benefits of fibre broadband.

“Once neighbours and
friends across a community start sharing how much better
their broadband experience is and that there is usually no
additional cost, people switch to fibre broadband
quickly.”

The cost of installation of fibre broadband at
home is covered by Enable and people usually get a much
faster, more reliable internet experience for about the same
or even less than they are paying today for broadband and
telephone services.

Residential customers can move to a
fibre broadband service simply by contacting Orcon, Snap,
Telecom or WorldxChange. Business customers have even more
choice of retail service provider and should visit enable.net.nz to select
one.

Enable’s fibre broadband coverage

Fibre
broadband services are available:• Across Halswell,
Rolleston and Lincoln.• Across Large parts Papanui,
Bishopdale, Bryndwr, Burnside, Northcote, Redwood and
Belfast.• To homes and businesses in the north-west
corner of Christchurch’s CBD.• To businesses in over
80 percent of the other commercial parts of
Christchurch.

Enable is building network for launch by
July in:• Large parts of Rangiora and
Kaiapoi.• Large parts of Spreydon.• Commercial
parts of Sydenham.• Parts of Edgeware, Shirley,
Richmond and Dallington.• Parts of Avondale, Wainoni,
Aranui and North New Brighton.

People should visit enable.net.nz to see if they will be
able to connect soon. Enable will be announcing its
deployment plans for between July 2014 and June 2015 in the
next couple of months.

About EnableEnable is a
partnership between Crown Fibre Holdings Limited and
Christchurch City owned Enable Services Limited to build and
operate the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network for
Christchurch and surrounding centres.

It will deliver
fibre broadband services to up to 180,000 homes, schools and
businesses in Christchurch, Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Woodend,
Lincoln, Prebbleton and Rolleston.

Enable’s fibre
broadband will play a vital role as Christchurch rebuilds
– it will sit at the heart of our vision for a 21st
century city. It will generate new industry, provide
unprecedented access to global markets and services for
local businesses, and enable the people of Christchurch to
connect with each other in exciting new ways.

Rocket Lab has signed a Commercial Space Launch Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The agreement enables Rocket Lab to use NASA resources - including personnel, facilities and equipment - for launch and reentry efforts. More>>

ALSO:

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler says some market commentators are predicting further declines in interest rates that would only make sense for an economy in recession, although some easing is likely to be needed to maintain New Zealand’s economic growth. More>>

Legal advice sought by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council on the Ruataniwha Dam consent conditions has confirmed that farmers who sign up to take water from the dam could be required to reduce the intensity of their farming operation to meet the catchment’s strict nitrogen limit. More>>

Health and safety law reform sparked by the Pike River coalmine disaster has been reported back from the industrial relations select committee with weakened requirements on small businesses to appoint health and safety representatives and committees. More>>

The value of fruit exported rose 20 percent (up $330 million) for the June 2015 year when compared with the year ended June 2014. Both higher prices and a greater quantity of exports (up 9.0 percent) contributed to the overall rise. More>>